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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. bound — certain
  3. bass — low music
  4. bass — the fish
  5. content — happy
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. date — the fruit
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. drill — a practice
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. land — to come down
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. land — ground
  15. content — the amount
  16. land — a country
  17. bound — obliged
  18. wax — to grow
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. drill — army training
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. bound — tied together
  24. prune — to trim

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com